Figure 1.--Here are some newly arrived Kindertransport children at one of the transit camps, probably Dovercourt. Notice that they are still wearing their tags.

The unsponsored children arriving at Harhich and other ports were taken to transit camps. One of the most important transit camps was Dovercourt, an unused summer camp near Harwich where the Holland Hook ferries landed. Pakefield Holiday Camp in Lowestoft and Barham House in Broadstairs were also used as transit camps. Dovercourt is a small seaside town in Essex near Harwich where some of the ferries were landing Kindertrahnsport children. Located there was an unoccupied summer camp. The RCM managed to obtain the use of for the arriving children. Those children when they reached British ports were sent by train to London id they had sponsors. The unsponsored children wee bussed to Dovercourt. The camp soon filled up. The staff worked hard to find plasces for the children so space could be freed up for new arrivals. The camp was managed by Anna Essinger who ran a private girls' school in Kent. Dovercourt was staffed by volunteers. The children were in a state of shock. The younger children had no idea why their parents had sent them off on a train. The older children were aprehensive about their future and terribly worried about their parents and other family mdembers. Every Sunday there was a kind of open house where prospective foster parents came to meet the children and pick a child that would fit into their family. Of course this became an ordeal for the childre, whether they would be chosen and by whom. Siblings in particulasr worried. Most of the older siblings were told tgo look aftrer theuir little brother or sister. Alone in a strange country, they especially feared being broken up. During the winter a high tide broke the seawall and flooded the camp. The children were moved to an old workhouse near Ipswich.

Created: 7:24 AM 7/9/2010
Last updated: 7:24 AM 7/9/2010